Oops! A little late with the book club discussion this month which is more of a reflection on how quickly May flew by than our book choice. Because I actually really loved the book, Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center. Except for how it left me a mess of tears at the end. I’m such a sap.

But on to our discussion! Here are some questions and general ideas that came to us while reading that we hope will generate some discussion. As always, don’t feel like you have to stick to these, bring up anything you wish to discuss as well!

• The author often uses foreshadowing at the end of chapters. Would you have preferred it without the foreshadowing or do you feel that it added to your interest in the story?
• Despite the fairly serious tone of the book, there were many laugh-out-loud moments throughout the story. What were some of your favorite funny moments?
• Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from Lanie’s point of view? Do you think it changed how we, the readers, viewed the actions of others in the book and our opinions of the characters as we met them? As an example, at times Peter seems harsh in his reactions to Lanie’s requests for more time or assistance, do you feel that he was justified in his behaviour or is this a skewed view because we’re only seeing things from Lanie’s perspective?
• Along those same lines, Lanie makes a lot of quick judgements about people based on her first impression/interaction with them (including Cambridge itself) only to slowly change her opinion as she grew to know them better. Do you think that’s a reflection of the title of the book and the truth to finding the beauty in everyone? Do you think the way Lanie makes friends with these people she initially doesn’t like is an accurate representation of how we make friends in real life?
• We meet a multitude of women in the book who are struggling to juggle being a wife, being a mother, and being their own person. Do you think there’s a message or something to be learned from each of the various situations we encounter?
• Dreams. Almost everyone in this book talks about something they thought they wanted or something they still want to do with their lives. Is there something you’ve always dreamed about and/or wanted to do with your life? How important do you think it is to hold on to your dreams even as other things in your life change?

Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel
by Seanan McGuire

Rosemary and Rue is an urban fantasy that revolves around October ‘Toby’ Daye. Half-human and half-fae, Toby exists somewhere between the world of Faerie and our world. Early in the book, something changes the landscape of her life as she’s known it. Rejecting her fae roots, she’s just doing her best to establish a daily routine and get through each new day. Until the murder of a friend and one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, Countess Evening Winterrose, forces her return to her past life. She must race against time itself to solve the mystery if she has any hope of beating the curse that Winterrose placed upon her.

If you don’t like any kind of supernatural elements in your fiction, this is not going to be the book for you. But this book is really about struggling to find a place for yourself when you feel pulled between two worlds. About the loneliness that comes from losing the life you had and those you loved. About not knowing who to trust and discovering your true friends. It’s all there. Don’t let the supernatural stuff fool you, this is a story we can all find relatable.

To read more, check out my full review over at Ramblings of a TV Whore.

The Crime of Fashion mystery series that I read this past summer is now being made into two Lifetime movies. I didn’t love the books but my girl Maggie Lawson was cast as the lead, Lacey Smithsonian, so I’ve been keeping my eye on Ellen Byerrum’s blog for updates about the movie. Today she updated with the trailer for the first movie so I wanted to share…

 
Looks like fun, no?

The Spellman Files, Curse of the Spellmans, & Revenge of the Spellmans
by Lisa Lutz

The short review is thus: I. Am. In. Love.

I picked up these books based on a review written by a friend. She was actually reviewing the second book in the series but I was sold. I headed to the library to get the first book. The next day? I was back at the library anxious to get my hands on the second book. And when the brand-new third book was checked out? I went out and bought it. I tell you this so you’ll understand just how quickly these books hooked me. Of course now I’m annoyed that I read through them so quickly and have to wait for the next one.

At the heart of this story is a family of private investigators, the Spellmans. The middle child, Isabelle “Izzy” Spellman, is our storyteller and it doesn’t take long to figure out there’s nothing normal about this family. Quirky at their best and dysfunctional at their worst, the one thing we never doubt is that they truly love each other.

I know this series is billed as mysteries and there are multiple investigations taking place in each of the books but I maintain these are character stories and the mysteries are just catalysts. If you go into these looking for an intriguing mystery, I think you’re bound to be disappointed. But, if you go in knowing this is the story of the Spellmans, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by how much you come to care for these characters and what’s happening to them.

I tend to like my books as books and my TV shows as TV shows but, as I read, I could easily picture this as a series on USA. That’s how much these characters jump off the page at you and how laugh out loud funny it can be at times. Even better, these characters actually continue to develop from book to book. One of my only problems with the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series is how long it takes for there to be any character growth from book to book. What even then we don’t get much. Understandable as it’d be hard to reach book 15 of hi-jinx with Stephanie if she changed too much.

So it was refreshing to read these books and actually see the Spellmans growing and changing from book to book. I don’t know how many more Spellman Mysteries we’ll get but I’m anxiously awaiting the next one. If you like books that are both funny and heart-warming and feature a quirky set of characters, then I think you should give these books a try. Like me, you might start wishing you could be a Spellman too dysfunction and all.

PS: This is how much I love these books… I talked them up to my Mom this past weekend and even bought her the first one so she’d have no excuse not to give it a try. Then, as I was sitting in her living room that afternoon, I re-read it! Admittedly it was more like a scan of my favorite parts but, still, I just read it a month ago and already I want to re-read all of them again. That’s some serious book love right there, people.

From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8 )
by Charlaine Harris

Now this is the way I like my Sookie Stackhouse stories… filled with action, intrigue, familiar faces and a little bit of romance! After the less than impressive All Together Dead, I found From Dead to Worse to be a vast improvement. The 8^th book in the Southern Vampire series finds Sookie back home in Bon Temps, and back to her regular life. Or as regular as a telepath who hangs out with vampires and werewolves’ life can be! Amelia is still living with Sookie, which gives her someone to interact with at home, and adds an interesting female character who’s (almost) always on Sookie’s side. Since I’ve often felt that there is a definite lack of female characters in the Southern Vampire series, I really enjoy the addition of Amelia to the series.

After all the loss and devastation in New Orleans, change is afoot in the vampire world. While Sookie would prefer not to be involved in Vamp politics, her associations always manage to land her right in the middle of things. To make matters worse, the Weres are caught up in a battle for leadership of their own, and they want Sookie’s assistance as well. And just when you think her supernatural obligations are at the max, we meet a long lost relative (or two!) that add a whole new wrinkle to Sookie’s already complicated life.

From Dead to Worse does an excellent job of advancing all the various plot lines that have been planted in the previous novels, bringing some to a satisfying close, while also opening things up for some new characters and dramas. Filled with all the great characters we have come to know and love over the years, along with a healthy dose of danger and excitement, and of course a few chuckles along the way, From Dead to Worse is one of my favourite Sookie books to date. I can’t wait to get my hands on Dead and Gone, the 9^th instalment in the series, to find out what happens next!

This month’s WAGB Book Club selection is Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center.

After reading her first novel The Bright Side of Disaster last summer, I was thrilled when I learned through twitter that Katherine had a second novel coming out.  In hopes that Everyone is Beautiful is as moving and heartfelt as her first novel, I suggested it as our May Book Club selection. Here’s a description:

Everything in Lainie Coates’ life is changing. Her husband receives a scholarship to a prestigious music school, so the family moves from her native Houston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. While Peter is involved with his studies, Lainie feels lost and alienated caring for her three young sons until she meets Amanda, an acquaintance from high school, at a local park. Lainie is at her frumpiest—in sweatpants, still carrying the weight from her baby—when a stranger asks when her baby is due. Mortified, she lies. How does one explain her error to gorgeous Amanda with her perfect daughter? This embarrassing incident starts Lainie on the path to her own self-discovery, that is, if she can find the time and the outlet. Center takes a woman at her most vulnerable time and sets her on a journey to find herself without losing what she holds most dear in a superbly written novel filled with unique and resonant characters. -Patty Engelmann

We hope you’re interested in reading and discussing the book with us, so check it out and join us back here the week of May 25th when we get the discussion started!